Fernando Valenzuela was not elected for Baseball Hall of Fame

Fernando Valenzuela failed to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame this year and won't appear on a ballot again until 2031 at the earliest.

“El Toro de Etchohuaquila” received less than five votes Sunday in Orlando, Florida, from the 16-member Contemporary Baseball Era Committee, which consisted of seven Hall of Famers, six baseball executives, including Angels owner Artie Moreno and former Dodger assistant general manager Kim Ng, and three veteran media members or historians.

Valenzuela and the other player candidates who received fewer than five votes are not eligible for consideration by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee when it next meets in 2028.

Though Valenzuela’s cultural impact on Latinos in Los Angeles and around the world is significant, baseball is a game of numbers. Statistically, his numbers are not enough for most experts.

Jeff Kent, who was the only candidate elected this year, had 351 home runs while playing second base. Valenzuela had 10 home runs. Valenzuela's 41.45 career wins above replacement is the highest for a Mexican player in MLB history. He was inducted into the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame in 2003 at Dodger Stadium.

Career home-run leader Barry Bonds, seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens and Gary Sheffield also received fewer than five votes. Their specific totals were not announced.

Bonds and Clemens have long been dogged by allegations that they used performance-enhancing drugs.

The Hall of Fame's eras committees meet on a rotating basis on a three-year basis. The Contemporary Baseball Era Committee Managers/Executives/Umpires ballot will meet in 2026. The Classic Baseball Era Committee -- which considers player, manager, umpire and executive candidates whose primary contributions to the game came prior to 1980 -- will meet in 2027.

Candidates needed 12 votes -- 75% of the committee -- to be elected.

The voting was held in connection with baseball's winter meetings, which are being held in Orlando.

This was the first time Valenzuela was on a Hall of Fame ballot since 2004, when he received votes from 3.8% of the voting members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America and was dropped from their future ballots because he received votes from less than 5% of the electorate.

Valenzuela received votes from 6.2% of the writers when he was first on the ballot in 2003.

This year, Kent received 14 votes or 87.5%. He played for the Dodgers for the final four seasons of his 17-season major league career.

Kent will be inducted to the Hall of Fame on July 26 along with any electees from the baseball writers' voting, which will be announced Jan. 20.

With additional reporting by City News Service.